Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Cholera kills 5 in Malawi, unlinked to Zim

Cholera kills 5 in Malawi, unlinked to Zim
AFP/TZG
Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:46:00 +0000

A CHOLERA outbreak in central Malawi has killed five people since the start of the rainy season, authorities said Thursday, adding that it wasn't connected with the crisis in Zimbabwe.

"So far we have recorded five deaths out of 88 cases of cholera reported as of Wednesday," said Storn Kabuluzi, director of preventive health services at the ministry of health.

Kabuluzi said all those who have died since November were from the rural town of Likuni, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the administrative capital Lilongwe.
He said the spread of cholera was exacerbated by poor sanitation.

"We hope to contain the situation with the drilling of a borehole and treating water with chlorine. The outbreak is not related to the epidemic currently gripping Zimbabwe," Kabuluzi said.

Malawi suffered its worst cholera outbreak in 2001, when 1,000 people died of the water-borne disease.

Official figures show that 65% of the 13 million Malawians have access to clean drinking water while 81.4% of households have a pit latrine.

Meanwhile the latest figures released by the U.N. indicate that cholera has now killed 1,111 people in Zimbabwe since August.

The U.N. humanitarian office says the total number of suspected cases reported in the country had risen to 20,581 by Wednesday since the start of the outbreak in August.

The new death toll figure of 1,111 reported Thursday was up from the 978 deaths reported Monday.

The World Health Organization has said the total number of cases could reach 60,000 unless the epidemic is stopped.

Cholera has spread in Zimbabwe because of the deterioration of the country's health care and water supply systems which the Government says are a result of a deliberate chemical and biological warfare against the country by Western countries who would like to see President Mugabe ousted militarily.

AFP/TZG

Labels: CHOLERA, MALAWI

posted by MrK @ 2:02 PM